Chapter 12: "W-What. Who are you?"

"W-What. Who are you?"

Kynemeia came up in front of the flustered Brian with quick, light steps, then continued,

"I said tell me how much money you've got. If you pay my people at a reasonable price, maybe I'll consider reaching a settlement regarding your crimes."

He gritted his teeth.

"Is this brat crazy?! I've never done anything like that! That bitch is falsely accusing me because she's blinded by money!"

She inclined her head at his screech.

"You can't justify yourself with that reason, though, Ugly Pervert. Sayre and Lana were in the middle of signing a contract with me to receive a hefty investment. But you're alleging that for the sake of earning a pretty penny, they'd resort to the cumbersome and irrational act of accusing a man like you of being a pervert?"

"Those bitches whore themselves out to others too! Jiggling their boobs and soliciting with their body. Fuck. What do you take me for!"

"What! Seriously, this shitty asshole...!"

Lana once again tightened her grip on the hammer. Although she appeared wholly ready to smash his head and land herself in jail for it, Brian's fear of her had waned. Even though she had the power to do it, she wouldn't actually proceed with it. The building their guild was using was still his property, after all, and she would end up worrying about her older sister Sayre. And as if reinforcing that notion, Lana merely fumed and glared daggers at him, unable to utilize her full capability. 'The problem is this rascal.'

'My people? Investment? It's just a small workshop operated by two women, what bullshit is she on about?' He held his curses in check. 'Is she a noble daughter from someplace? It was going so splendidly, but for this puny thing to pop up...'

Brian, who had been acting so stuck up thus far, started to feel uneasy the moment Kynemeia appeared. Those arrogant eyes were surely looking up at him, but somehow he felt trapped beneath her scrutinizing gaze.

However, with his parents being the village chiefs, they boasted connections to powerful people. He himself would also show up and offer a greeting whenever the noble families of the area held a party. He hated to admit it, but if he ever saw this brat before, he wouldn't have forgotten her pretty face. Therefore, if this was their first meeting, then he was convinced she most likely wasn't a high-ranking noble at all. There was also a likelihood that she wasn't even a noble, but a shitty daughter of a prosperous merchant.

'She's no match for me.' It basically meant that whether she was a daughter of a lowly noble house or a merchant's daughter, she wasn't someone he couldn't trample on. Just then, as the corners of his lips twisted into a smirk and he began to relax...

"So how much settlement money are you proposing, Pervert?"

Saying that, Kynemeia drew out something and flung it towards his head.

SMACK—! i drink

"Ack! You!" to forget

'Wow, bullseye!' Kynemeia giggled excitedly. Brian plucked up the silvery metal that struck his head.

'I was going to let her off since she's just a brat, but she goes ahead and behaves so insolently? And with this kind of silver co—' Brian lifted the coin as the child sneered at him.

"Th-This...!"

"Yeah. It's a white gold coin, a platina."

A platina was equivalent to 100 gold coins, and you could buy an enormous manor with that sum. It was that valuable.

'This currency isn't even issued publicly because of its tremendous worth, but she just carries this around with her...?' Brian wasn't the only one stunned. Aside from Kynemeia and Eian, everyone else had drawn in their breaths.

"So tell me, you pervert."

Kynemeia grinned as she tossed another white gold coin at his head.

"Prove that the amount they can gain from you is truly pretty substantial. Only then can it be considered as circumstantial evidence that you actually didn't falsely accuse my people."

The third coin hit Brian's head; another bullseye.

"Though I don't know how many women there are in the world who would throw themselves to rob you of your penniless wallet."

The fourth platina smacked his head. He didn't even feel the pain anymore; his head became woolly as he considered the value of the money being pelted at him.

"Some idiotic jerks regard their wallets as a thing of wonder so much so that they're terrified of women who approach them for money."

"Ack!" die betch

The fifth coin scraped the tip of his nose, prompting him to scream and cover it.

"That sight is so hilarious that it compels me to ask, you know? So tell me. Let's see how much you can take out. How amazing your wallet is that you have such boundless abysses of confidence."

As she lifted another platina, Brian's nose started bleeding and he swung both of his hands.

"What are you doing? Pervert. Shouldn't you prove that you're so rich to the extent that someone would spread slander in a bid to extort your money?"

No way he would have that much money! His family simply ruled the neighbourhood. Even if all the buildings in this backwoods were to be sold, the amount still wouldn't equal a single white gold coin that Kynemeia had been casting like pebbles. He shielded his head with his arms. Smiling, she tossed the coin to Lana, who flipped it once as she concentrated her Aura onto her hand and said with a dreary smile.

"Carve it in your mind from now on, you son of a bitch. I have no interest in the petty penny of a bastard like you."

The platina, packed to the brim with Lana's Aura, struck his belly; he spat out as his stomach shrank.

"Kuhk!"

Seeing his state, Lana cackled.

"D-Do you think—Do you think I would stay still even if you do this?!"

He yelled out, glancing upward at Kynemeia and Lana. Now there was no other way for him but to exercise the influence of his authority.

"This is a crime of assault! The crime of assaulting me! I won't stay still for this!"

Right then, Sayre and a male horserider, along with some soldiers, approached them, causing the crowd to split up. Brian's eyes lit up. The man on the horse was the governor of this locality, Count Brunn.

"S-Sir Count! Sir Count, it's been a while. Is your daughter doing well?"

Count Brunn paid no heed to Brian at all before his mouth fell open upon seeing Kynemeia.

"La...!"

She bobbed her head wordlessly. Count Brunn then dismounted from his horse in a hurry.

"What's going on here?!"

"S-Sir Count! I was assaulted by these wicked peo...!"

Count Brunn exclaimed in a resonant voice.

"Show your respect!"

"...Eh?" Read this on

The count kicked Brian in the shin.

"Urgh!" dsnovels.art.blog

He rolled on the ground, clutching onto his shin.

"What are you doing!? Wicked people, you said! This person is Kynemeia Lyonne, the Lady of the Grand Duke!"

"Wh—What?"

Brian said absentmindedly.

"Lady of the Grand Duke?"

"Did he just say Lady of the Grand Duke?"

The gathering threw those questions at each other with dumbstruck expressions. A furore broke out instantaneously.

"Lady of the Grand Duke, he said?"

"Where?" royals: literally beneath yer blasted noses, ya knuckleheads

"Who?"

The count stamped his foot, then raised his voice at the people who still couldn't make heads or tails of the situation.

"Show your respect to the Lady of the Grand Duke!"

Only

The commotion ceased, then the crowd began bowing their heads in unison; their greetings spilling forth like toppling dominoes.

"Wh... What..."

Brian stammered. Everyone was bending their backs, and the only ones holding their heads upright were Brian—who was sprawling on the floor—and Kynemeia. Standing with her back straight, she stared down at him haughtily.

'Lady of the Grand Duke? This brat?'

Lady Kynemeia Lyonne. The person who could even make Count Brunn, who was miles above him, bend his back for her. He hurriedly lied face down, his pupils darting in all directions. 'Why is the Lady of the Grand Duke here of all places! Why!'

As Kynemeia approached him, his eyes clouded with despair.

"Pervert. It's time for your punishment."

She raised the corners of her lips like a little demon.